South African Household Wealth Index Q4 2012 (PDF)

The value of South African household wealth for the first time surpassed R6 000 million in the fourth quarter of 2012, according to the latest Momentum/UNISA South African Household Wealth Index. The results of the latest research by the Personal Finance Research Unit (PFRU) of the Bureau of Market were released on Friday, 19 April.

The index is the result of an agreement between Unisa and Momentum whereby the company is sponsoring research by the Personal Finance Research Unit (PFRU) of the Bureau of Market Research into South African household wealth. It is the first independent, credible and comprehensive research of its kind in South Africa and the findings present an invaluable and unprecedented benchmark in understanding the state of the nation’s financial wellness.

According to the latest findings South Africans continue to get wealthier, clocking up two consecutive quarters of growth. At the same time the data show that households are worse off due to relatively recent recessionary factors.  The recession of 2008/2009 reduced the real value of household wealth significantly and the knock-on effects of this are due to be keenly felt.  Expressed in years, the recession wiped out five years of household wealth.  This will have consequences for the retirement age of individuals and the contributions they are making towards their retirement funds.  To realise pre-recession expectations, individuals are going to have to save and invest more and work longer.

At a glance, South Africans continue to get wealthier, clocking up two consecutive quarters of growth. South African households experienced a surprisingly strong 2012 fourth quarter increase in the value of their nominal net wealth. The report revealed that nominal household wealth increased at a seasonally adjusted and annualised rate of 28.8%. This growth occurred despite violent labour strikes at South African mines, mediocre domestic economic growth and a slowing international economy.

While these figures look heartening at first sight, real net wealth per household has decreased by, on average, 0.04% per year since 1975, suggesting that household balance sheets are not well at all. The growth in unsecured personal debt is still a persistent problem and bears some of the responsibility for weakening personal wealth and savings rates.  This is real cause for concern; and policymakers, the private sector, and households should all pitch in and take responsibility in turning this situation around.

Commenting on the long-term outtake of the data, Prof Bernadene de Clercq, head of the Personal Finance Research Unit at UNISA’s Bureau of Market Research said, “Despite nominal increases in net wealth, real household wealth per household is not at all sufficient for purposes of independent retirement or maintaining current living standards.  Too many households – especially those who are in a position to accumulate assets thanks to strong increases in their real disposable income over the past decade – apportion insufficient shares of their income towards asset accumulating investments as they rather purchase consumption goods.”

At a glance the South African households experienced a surprisingly strong 2012 fourth quarter increase in the value of their nominal net wealth. The report revealed that nominal household wealth increased at a seasonally adjusted and annualised rate of 28.8%.

The main driving force behind the increase in nominal household wealth was a strong increase in the value of South African household assets. The main source of the increase in the value of household assets was the strong performance of share prices. On an annualised basis, the JSE All Share Index increased by 45.2% during Q4.

At the same time the data also show that households are worse off due to relatively recent recessionary factors.  The latest findings by the PFRU have shown that the recession of 2008/2009 reduced the real value of household wealth significantly and the knock-on effects of this are due to be keenly felt.  Expressed in years, the recession wiped out five years of household wealth.  This will have consequences for the retirement age of individuals and the contributions they are making towards their retirement funds.  To realise pre-recession expectations, individuals are going to have to save and invest more and work longer.

Graph1

A recent report by the Bureau of Market Research (BMR) at Unisa provides a critical evaluation of the demographic, economic and socioeconomic aspects of the 2011 South Africa census. The evaluation was conducted by Professor Eric Udjo, Research Director of the Demographic Research Division of the BMR, and Professor Carel van Aardt, Research Director, Household Wealth Research Division of the BMR.

The 2011 South Africa Census conducted by Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) in October 2011 was the third post-apartheid census after the 1996 and 2001 censuses that covered the entire country. Censuses worldwide contain errors but the magnitude of the errors differs from one country to the other.

The BMR evaluation indicates that, as with other censuses elsewhere in the world, the 2011 South Africa Census contains certain strengths and weaknesses. In this regard it would appear that overall the 2011 census was plagued by less coverage of males relative to females but the age distribution from the census was reasonably good. According to Udjo, the 2011 census achieved better coverage of persons aged 0-4 years than in previous censuses and surveys.

It would appear that the percentage of Black Africans in the population was over-reported during the 2011 census, probably due to some coloureds and Indians (to a lesser degree) reporting they were black Africans for political and ideological reasons, says Udjo.

Despite inconsistencies in derived numbers of births, children alive, and children dead compared with the reported numbers, the age-specific fertility rates were of very good quality – better than in the 1996 and 2001 censuses (see figure 1). According to Udjo, mortality data are usually problematic in surveys and censuses. A critical evaluation of the report on child survival suggests that there was substantial underreporting of dead children during the 2011 census.

According to the BMR evaluation, the 2011 census data provide valuable demographic information on current demographic patterns. By employing appropriate demographic modeling techniques the demographic information from the 2011 Census can provide a basis for informed decision making for planning in the public and private sectors.
The BMR report provides essential demographic estimates for South Africa for decision makers.

Evaluating the demographic, economic and socioeconomic aspects of the 2011 South Africa Census (Research Report No 430) was compiled by Professor Eric Udjo (Research Director, Bureau of Market Research) and Professor Carel van Aardt (Research Director, Bureau of Market Research).

*Submitted by Madeleine Goetz

Mr Theo van der Vyver

An investment in tutor training has really paid off for students and an academic from the Department of Economics, Mr Theo van der Vyver, who recently received the prestigious International Education Faculty Achievement Award.

Conferred by the International Association of University Presidents (IAUP) the award recognises extraordinary achievement in curriculum development, service, and teaching to prepare world citizens. The IAUP was founded in 1964 with the aim of increasing the exchange of experiences, levels of collaboration and networking between university leaders across the globe. It also supports sustainable development in a context of global competency.

Mr van der Vyver is the coordinator of the Economics 1A (ECS1501) module and the first Unisa academic to receive such an honour.

According to Van der Vyver, staff members in the department used the available myUnisa platform and embarked on providing extensive training workshops to tutors in order to ensure good communication at departmental and regional level. “They have embraced the tutor model, where they currently have 90 e-tutors and 80 face-to-face tutors. They went the extra mile and introduced module-specific DVDs that cover the economics module content and include real examples and input from renowned economists. They also pursued the online route to teaching, making use of YouTube clips through their external website.

The format of the online teaching allows the tutors to conduct 20 minutes of teaching and gives the student an opportunity to do exercises after the lecture. The department also pioneered the first African glossary of terminology in order to translate economic concepts into South African languages, for easy understanding.”

“The feedback from students has been very positive,” said Van der Vyver. “The discussion classes have grown tremendously, with places like Mthatha recording an increase in the pass rate from 0% to 50% from 2009 to 2012. Our face-to-face tutorials have been so successful they have been expanded internationally to Ethiopia, Swaziland, and Lesotho.”

Here are some of the student comments:

A Saidi: “I would like to thank Mr T van der Vyver and all economics department staff. You have done your best to assist us in this module to the extent that if we fail, we only have ourselves to blame, especially those who attended satellite broadcasts, discussion classes and tutorials. Of all the modules I registered, economics has been the best in terms of student support. Keep it up.”

H Hodgkinson: “I have done my diploma through Unisa and am now busy with BCom. Not once in all the subjects I have done thus far, have I had such support from a lecturer. Slides, extra study notes, a DVD, a fantastic CD and an involvement in the forum. Thank you, Mr Van der Vyver.”

Natasha: “Hi there, I just wanted to say what a great job the Economics department is doing. We had so much guidance, encouragement, room for evaluating ourselves and feedback that if we failed it could only be due to our own capabilities or lack of studying.”

Prof Valiant Clapper, executive dean of the college.

He has a passion for people and believes that building lasting relationships with key stakeholders in the College of Economic and Management Sciences and Unisa, as well as externally, is what ultimately will make CEMS great.

Addressing the first college board meeting of the year, the new Executive Dean of CEMS, Professor Valiant Clapper, said that one could embrace the future with innovative thinking without getting rid of what has worked in the past.

CEMS should play a significant role, not only because it was Unisa’s biggest college and probably the largest on the continent, but because it was a major contributor to the South African and African economies with its efforts in tuition, research and community engagement.

According to Clapper, CEMS alumni could play a much bigger role in ensuring the college’s success. There was talk of building an entrepreneurship hub and the pivotal role business could play in building a place where entrepreneurs could go for assistance from specialists in CEMS as well as from the public and private sector was noted.

“CEMS has alumni all over the world and in key positions. We should engage them in everything we do to ensure our combined efforts will contribute to our vision of being the management and finance education and training provider of choice,” Clapper said.

For this year, CEMS management has set three goals for the college in terms of portfolio, people and the planet.

In terms of the portfolio, the college wants to ensure that its programme qualification addresses real education , training, and research needs that enhance graduateness and intellectual growth as demanded by the knowledge and information society.

As people, the college wants to create and sustain a nurturing, caring, and enabling environment characterised by appropriate academic and intellectual growth that will equip staff to deliver a good service to students.

This should all happen in the context of caring for the environment in which the college functions by fostering an ethic that pursues and sustains development, stewardship and the sustainable exploitation of resources.

Prior to his appointment, Clapper acted as the Executive Director and CEO of the Unisa Graduate School of Business Leadership (SBL). He served as Deputy Executive Dean at CEMS from 2010 to January 2012.

Professor André Ligthelm, Research Director at the Bureau of Market Research of Unisa, recently conducted a study on the state of formal business development in South Africa based on data compiled by Statistics South Africa.

According to Ligthelm, the focus on the formal business sector was primarily informed by prior research that confirmed the survivalist nature of the majority of informal businesses.  Owners of businesses established for survival do not have the talent, skills or appetite for risk needed to turn informal businesses into really successful businesses.  However, it is important to note that informal businesses play an important role in the lives of the poor and will continue to feature in the South African economy for the foreseeable future as they are often the only means of survival for the poor.  Nevertheless, they will never be the springboard for successful and productive business development and growth.

In 2010, a total of 462 330 formal businesses were registered for VAT in South Africa.  Almost seven in every 10 of these businesses were either active in the real estate and business services sector (44.3%) or in the trade sector (25.1%).

Figure 1 shows the sectoral distribution of total business turnover in 2011.  Almost one third (34.9%) was generated by businesses in the trade sector and 28.5% by businesses in the manufacturing sector.  Mining and quarrying businesses were responsible for 6.4% of total business turnover.

Figure 1: Sectoral distribution of total business turnover

Figure 2 depicts the contribution of small, medium and large businesses to total business turnover in 2006 and 2011.  The contribution of large businesses to total turnover remained at approximately three quarters of total business turnover.  The contribution of small businesses declined from 16.4% in 2006 to 14.4% in 2011.  This reality confirms the fact that government policy should become more large business-friendly to stimulate additional fixed investment and the creation of quality jobs.

Figure 2: Contribution to total business turnover by business size class, 2006 and 2011

Prof Anton Brits

There is no question that transport is indispensible for the citizens of a country. However, the financial burden of upgrading and maintaining road infrastructure is enormous – a burden that weighs heavily on the pockets of commuters. This is reason enough for a road-user pricing system that’s acceptable to society in terms of equity and sustainability. Putting the road-user pricing approach in perspective was Prof Anton Brits of the Department of Transport Economics, Logistics & Tourism, through his inaugural lecture on 30 August 2012.

Transport infrastructure is regarded as a public good, with its production necessary for all consumers. In many cases, no individual can be excluded from benefiting whether or not he or she pays for it. This can dredge up consequences regarding the upkeep of infrastructure. “However, in terms of road-user pricing with the road infrastructure with monopolistic features, market forces does not always apply and therefore it is necessary for an equitable socioeconomic approach to promote the acceptability of the road-user pricing approach. If the monopolistic power is in the hands of the government, the emphasis of socioeconomic equity is vital to promote coherence and trust among its citizens,” said Brits.

An equitable and justified road-user pricing

Acceptance of road-user pricing, based on equity, should be underlined by the principles of justice, liberty, equal opportunity and the principle of differences.

From a South African context, the South African National Roads Agency Ltd (SANRAL) has been entrusted by government “to provide and manage a world-class, sustainable national road network as cost-effectively as possible, in order to stimulate economic growth and improve the quality of life of all South African people.”  Funding for SANRAL’s national non-toll roads is provided by the National Treasury, which also levies general fuel taxes. However, the fuel levy is not intended to be a dedicated source of funding for transport investment or maintenance but rather to raise revenue from sources other than the general citizen income base.

Unfortunately, over the years, SANRAL has accumulated a budget deficit, as the income from the fuel levy tax is combined with other state revenues and allocated according to priorities. Priorities such as poverty, education and health are often ranked higher than expanding road infrastructure, and as a result approximately 33% of the South African fuel levy is allocated to roads.

Calculating the road-user price

The South African approach of road-user pricing is that a feasibility study is done in terms of the total road project costs, maintenance and operating costs, traffic volumes, road-user cost savings, a toll implementation strategy and a financial analysis. The total project costs are calculated in terms of the necessary structures, the road works and other aspects such as toll facilities and land acquisition. A socioeconomic impact assessment is then undertaken to assess the project’s economic and financial feasibility. Said Brits, “Traffic volumes are determined by an aggregated network transport model, and a traffic diversion curve is determined to establish a toll rate based on a percentage of the road user saving which will generate an acceptable rate of traffic, prepared to pay the predicted toll tariff.”

In terms of the equity of road-user pricing, the first best option, namely marginal cost pricing, may deviate from the actual road-user pricing because of the attributes of the road-user market. Territorial, horizontal and vertical equity as fairness approaches are therefore of utmost importance for the South African socioeconomic circumstances. “Based on the vertical equity approach, changes in the consumer surpluses of the different income groups should be determined to establish the impact of the toll. If free roads, parallel to the toll road are restricted or not available, the cost for road users with no alternative but the car will increase. This is specifically applicable in South Africa since available alternative public transport is limited,” said Brits.

Driving socioeconomic sensitivity

The socioeconomic sensitivity of introducing a specific road-user pricing approach under monopolistic circumstances, as applicable in South Africa, is critical for public acceptance and ultimately to be successful and sustainable. If the advantages of the improved road system are not financially positive, road users may regard it as another tax – something which is not needed in this country. Therefore, said Brits, “Any non-differentiated toll tariff will be unacceptable; because it may worsen the situation of those already financially disadvantaged and have no intention to improve their situation. An equity framework should be used to strategise an acceptable road user pricing approach and promote sustainability.”

*Written by Kirosha Naicker

UNCFSP group from left: Prof Valiant Clapper (Acting Executive Director: Graduate School of Business Leadership), Prof Elmarie Sadler (Acting Executive Dean: College of Economic and Management Sciences), Prof Raphael Mpofu (Director: School of Management Sciences), Ronald Langston (Langston Global Enterprises), Michael J. Hester (UNCFSP President and Chief Executive Officer), Lizzie Lowe (UNCFSP) & Emmanuel Ortisejafor (North Carolina Central University)

It is no secret that many South Africans are currently seeking employment. According to Statistics South Africa, while the country’s unemployment rate may have dropped from 25,2% to 24,9% in the second quarter of 2012, there were still approximately 4,5 million people looking for work in the second quarter of 2012, of which 67,8% have been looking for work for a period of one year or longer.

Also of concern is the number of South African graduates without jobs. And despite overall levels of unemployment declining year-on-year, the number of unemployed people among those with tertiary education, increased by 24 000.

Unisa recognises the disparity in unemployment and the challenges facing South Africans, and as part of their efforts to address these challenges, the university’s College of Economic and Management Sciences is currently hosting delegates from the United Negro College Fund Special Programs Corporation (UNCFSP) as part of the UNCFSP/Unisa Global Entrepreneurship and Community Engagement Partnership.

Speaking at the opening session on 8 October 2012, UNCFSP President and Chief Executive Officer, Michael J Hester, said that the purpose of the week-long programme was to engage Unisa as a strategic partner to create a nexus of study and practice between policy, social entrepreneurship and business enterprise in an effort to yield economic growth.

Providing context, he said in the USA, the historically black universities and colleges were the anchors of the community, and among other things, they have also been the source of training grounds for business owners and businesses that sustain the communities. “As we fast forward to today, we recognise the importance of keeping that linkage between our universities and businesses that support the community. UNCFSP has adopted the approach that we want to serve as a global platform for education and economic opportunity. We want to create synergy around entrepreneurship and a linkage – a synergy – between our universities and business. So we’ve established the global entrepreneurship initiative to do just that. And we asked our international partners to join with us, with express purpose of finding ways to expand upon that linkage between academia and industry.”

Unisa’s Vice-Principal: Institutional Development, Dr Molapo Qhobela, said crafting relationships that are enduring, and that have mutual value are important. He said South Africa and Africa have a multitude of problems and the best way to alleviate the problems is to work in partnerships. He added that when funders look for opportunities, when funders want things to be done, they want things to be done in sync. “… And so part of our hope, coming out of these engagements, is going to be how we craft those relationships, build them on the back of what makes universities good, what makes universities strong… Our (Unisa) duty is to provide opportunity to the people of this continent and at the same time to make sure that that opportunity is tied to tangible benefits – not only to them as individuals but to the broader society at large.”

As the focus of the week’s planned discussions are on entrepreneurship, many students from Unisa and the UNCFSP are enthusiastic and eager to network and learn from each other.

UNSCFSP-Institute for International Public Policy Fellow, Harjaap Singh, said he was happy to be in Southern Africa because of family ties. “I’ve always tried to understand what my legacy is here, in the sense my father used to live in Zambia and there’s a lot of influence of African culture in my family, and I am not aware of that, so I am trying to better deeply understand it. This is definitely a great opportunity and I hope we understand that as young entrepreneurs, the new generations to take forth the leadership, we have to establish our own relationships. And although we may not have our own companies, we may not be the deans of schools; one day that might just happen, and it’s important for us to create those relationships, so that we can keep an open mind and prevent that ignorance that goes around the world from continuing forth.”

UNSCFSP-Institute for International Public Policy Fellow, Alaina Walton, whose interests are in political economy said: “I believe that our connection – Unisa and UNCFSP – is such a great connection because we get to see where South Africa’s economy is moving as an emerging nation.”

This network building and sharing of knowledge comes at an opportune time for young South African entrepreneurs as the 2011 Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) report (released in 2012), stated that the number of South African youth entrepreneurs is lagging behind other BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) countries.

The report called for closer investigation and debate around the factors that impact on entrepreneurial activity in South Africa. “Given South Africa’s very high unemployment rate, improving policies and schemes that increase the number of individuals that pursue entrepreneurship as a positive employment choice are vital.”

GEM’s primary measure of total early-stage entrepreneurial activity (TEA) shows that South Africa’s rate in 2011 (9,1%) has remained constant (8,9% in 2010). Female involvement in early stage entrepreneurship increased between 2006 and 2011, but by a smaller percentage than the increase for male involvement.

The report reads: “South Africa’s rates of TEA in the 18-24 years and 25-34 years age brackets are the second lowest of the BRICS economies, which is a cause for concern when one considers the youth unemployment rate of 48,2%. In most other efficiency-driven economies, the 25-34 years age bracket drives TEA. Given that South Africa has a very low established business rate (the lowest of the BRICS economies and one of the lowest across all GEM countries), indicates that relatively few jobs are available for youth and that small business development aimed at youth should be one of South Africa’s most pressing priorities.”

* Written by Rivonia Naidu

Exxaro group 1: Willem Van Der Merwe (Exxaro Resources), Joanne Yawitch (CEO: National Business Initiative), Prof Neil Eccles (Acting Chair of Department and Chief Researcher: Unisa Institute for Corporate Citizenship), Prof Narend Baijnath (Unisa Pro-Vice-Chancellor), Prof Godwell Nhamo (Programme Manager: Exxaro Chair in Business & Climate Change at Unisa), Prof Darrell Myrick (Unisa Department of Public Administration), Prof Simon Zadek (Senior Fellow: Global Green Growth Institute and Senior Advisor: International Institute for Sustainable Development) & Mr Stephen Karekezi (Director: African Energy Policy Research Network)

The green economy is inextricably linked to economic growth and global sustainable development.

Since the global financial meltdown of 2008, the concept of a green economy has rapidly garnered attention due to structural flaws in current economic models. And as many economies continue with their struggles to recover, many are considering the possibility of a green economy and discourse in this regard has intensified.

Although some consensus and general direction emerged from Rio+20 (Rio+20 outcomes document entitled The Future We Want) regarding what a green economy entails, the subject still remains contested. As in the early days where the concept of sustainable development was debated at great length, key stakeholders will continue to debate the concept of a green economy to a point where further clarity emerges.

Listing the Green economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication as one of its key thematic areas, Rio+20 affirmed that there are different approaches, visions, models and tools available for countries to achieve sustainable development, and the green economy is one such important tool. The green economy must also contribute to achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the document states.

It is within this context that the Exxaro Chair in Business and Climate Change at Unisa hosted the Exxaro Symposium and Biennial Public Lecture, themed Green Economy in the Context of Sustainable Development and Poverty Eradication in Africa, on 26 October 2012.

Opening the symposium, Prof Narend Baijnath, Unisa’s Pro-Vice-Chancellor, highlighted among other things, South Africa’s Green Economy Accord launched at COP17 last year.

According to government, the accord is one of the most comprehensive social pacts on green jobs in the world. It seeks to build a partnership to create 300 000 new jobs by 2020 in economic activities such as energy generation, manufacturing of products that reduce carbon emissions, farming activities to provide feedstock for biofuels, soil and environmental management and ecotourism.

And while the accord sings hope, some government officials have acknowledged that the transition into the green economy is a process, and that it will require innovations and new technologies. Prof Baijnath believes to accomplish the objectives of the accord, “earth conscious” institutions of higher education have to form strategic links with “earth conscious” businesses in conjunction with government.

“Proponents of the green economy believe it is necessary to build a green economy to achieve sustainable development and lift people and nations out of poverty… The role of higher education in Africa, in contributing to sustainable development and social justice, must of necessity be examined afresh… As Africa is still in the considerably earlier stages of development, institutions of higher education can work to inform policy, create awareness and mobilise communities about the need to safeguard our natural resources.”

Prof Baijnath also said it is important to note that the call to support the green economy will be costly; it will involve new systems, new ways of doing things, and a new culture and consciousness that leads to informed discourse and ethical and green practice.

Mr Stephen Karekezi, Director: African Energy Policy Research Network, spoke on Energy and energy corridors in Africa’s green economy.  His presentation focused on renewable energy and associated key benefits, as well as on whether the corridor development concept makes sense for renewable energy options that are often portrayed as quintessential decentralised technologies.

Renewable energy, said Mr Karekezi, is a sound alternative to conventional options such as oil and coal. The associated benefits include, among others, energy security, as renewables are largely inexhaustible; environmental safety, because there are limited harmful gas emissions; and the creation of many local enterprises and jobs in equipment manufacture, construction, installation and in the growing of feedstock for bio-energy installations

Mr Karekezi also presented case studies of geothermal, wind and cogeneration in agro-industries to address the relevance of corridor-based development and said the studies supported corridor-based renewable energy development (click here for part 2 of Mr Karekezi’s lecture).

Commissioning the biennial lecture, Unisa Principal and Vice-Chancellor, Prof Mandla Makhanya, said higher education institutions have a leading role to play in embracing the mission of transformation towards sustainability.

Unisa, he said, is making “satisfying” progress in embedding, comprehensively, an ethos and practice of sustainability. The inaugural Exxaro Biennial Public Lecture marks another important milestone on that journey.

Speaking on the accomplishments of the Exxaro Chair, Prof Makhanya said the research arm of the chair explores interdisciplinary studies within and outside Unisa, and that the cutting-edge research is placed in the public arena, stimulating public debate, leading to the development of good practices for businesses as well as serving as a catalyst for new climate change policy development and industry practices.

The chair, he said, is also involved in both internal and external advocacy oriented community engagement with stakeholders dealing in business and climate change issues.

Prof Godwell Nhamo, the chair’s programme manager, also coordinates one of the research flagship projects in the College of Economic and Management Sciences. The flagship which deals with the Green Economy and Climate Change, is a rallying point in terms of research and innovation, and has attracted more than 50 researchers both within and outside Unisa, said Prof Makhanya.

“In addition, together with other progressive academics, Prof Nhamo has formed a Unisa-wide climate change research group hosted by the office of the Vice-Principal: Research and Innovation. There are currently six PhD and two master’s degree candidates working on various research topics addressing environmental stewardship,” he said.

Prof Simon Zadek, Senior Fellow, Global Green Growth Institute and Senior Advisor: International Institute for Sustainable Development, spoke on Shaping a green political economy.

He highlighted three barriers to accelerated transformation for an environmentally sustainable economy: financial markets, vested interests and government.

“Firstly, we have everything it takes to solve the problems facing us. There is no empty chair at the table that we are waiting to fill, some leader or technology or crucial piece of information that will change the game altogether for the better. The cards, if you prefer the analogy, have all been dealt.

My solutions, if you can call them such, offer a tough love, requiring leadership, risk taking, and a vibrant political economy in its fullest sense. Capital markets, viral and parasitic in their nature, need a radical overhaul to align them to their public purpose to invest in tomorrow`s sustainable economy; incumbents, including us, need to be gently or otherwise moved to one side, allowing toxic assets to be depreciated or better still converted to other uses; and government, the uncelebrated key to wealth creation through the ages, needs to be reinvented to do its job at this critical time,” concluded Zadeck.

Prof Zadek’s website is: http://www.zadek.net/

* Written by Rivonia Naidu

CEMS staff with the gifts they bought.

CEMS staff recently made the Christmas dreams of more than a hundred children come true when they bought the items on the children’s wish lists. Santa would have found it difficult to deliver the pile of presents with a few reindeer and eventually used a truck to deliver the gifts to the Abraham Kriel orphanage in Limpopo!

“It was a great day for the children! The gifts which you so lovingly bought made them feel loved and special and I basically cannot stop saying thank you on behalf of these children”, said Mrs Gezina Lombard, the marketer at the orphanage.

The Abraham Kriel orphanage is situated in Modimolle in Limpopo Province and it takes care of 135 kids between the ages of 3 and 19. CEMS launched the wish list project in 2011. This year 15 houses received gifts from Unisa staff. These included clothing, food, stationery and toys.  Eleven houses received gifts from departments in CEMS, and two from the department of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and the Department of Communication in CHS.

According to Mrs Helene Louw who organised the collection of the gifts, CEMS will continue partnering with individuals, departments and communities in order to help and give hope to the children of Abraham Kriel orphanage for years to come.

*Story submitted by Tumisho Mashego

CEMS’ Manager: Tuition, Prof Truida Oosthuizen, explains curriculum changes on community radio

Can you imagine tuning in to your community radio station and hearing important information and news from Unisa? Students in the Cape region could not believe their ears when they tuned into their favourite community radio stations and there it was – Unisa in their homes.

In an effort to get closer to students in the College of Economic and Management Sciences (CEMS) the college started UnisaTalk in August to address issues and concerns students have. 

When Radio Tygerberg, one of the largest community radio stations in South Africa (some 330 000 daily listeners)  won the Best Community Radio Station Award in May 2012 talks started on the possibility to work with a number of community radio stations to communicate with CEMS students. As community radio stations are normally article 21 companies (which means they belong to the community) they provide an excellent platform to reach specific communities.

As a result students in the western and southern Cape could from August tune in to four community radio stations (that cover approximately ninety percent of the region. The schedule for UnisaTalk is posted on the Unisa Western Cape web page and students receive weekly sms’s to tell them of the content of the week’s programme as well as the subject of that night’s broadcast. 

Initially the response was slow, but as students got over the first surprise the response has picked up.  They are beginning to give positive feedback, says Mrs Ilze Crous, communication and marketing specialist for CEMS.

The time for the broadcasts during the pilot stage was eight o’ clock on a Monday night, but they have asked us to move it to nine o’clock as that is when Unisa time starts. We have taken this into account and in the next round the programme will be broadcasted in a new time slot.

Issues such as study skills, preparation for the examinations, where do I start if I want to do a master’s or doctorate degree and information about the phasing in and out of qualifications in CEMS are discussed in the broadcasts which are closely co-ordinated with service departments and the regions.

Students can interact with these programmes by sending their questions and concerns by sms to a cell phone number, pasting it on the Facebook Wall of the Cape region or sending an e-mail to either the radio station or Unisa.

In the coming months students in the Cape region can look forward to hearing from other well-known Unisa students and how they manage to balance work, home and a social life with their studies.

“We want to bring Unisa closer to every student and create a virtual campus. This is not only for students in the larger metropolitan areas who are close to the regional centres, but also for those in rural areas who might sometimes feel isolated. We are currently looking at the possibility of expanding these broadcasts on community radio stations in other regions and to also include the other colleges and regions in the broadcasts,” says Crous.